| Zusammenfassung |
* 1.Turloughs are a prime example of a water body type that interfaces with both the European Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD), highlighting the need for an integrated strategy to protect and manage surface waters and groundwaters. To date, research on turloughs, including their invertebrate communities is limited. * 2.Eight turloughs were sampled for their macroinvertebrate communities and water chemistry in April 2007. Faunal samples were collected by means of a simple box sampler. * 3.Replicate samples within each turlough clustered together, indicating that a single sample can provide a meaningful description of the turlough invertebrate community. Variation of invertebrate communities within turloughs was nested among turloughs. * 4.Hydroperiod influenced mean abundance and taxon richness of macroinvertebrates, but no correlation was found between nutrient status and either mean abundance or taxon richness. * 5.Turloughs are priority habitats under the EC Habitats Directive, requiring maintenance of ‘favourable conservation status’, which needs to be assessed through monitoring, and effected through appropriate management plans. While the distinctiveness of macroinvertebrate communities across turloughs is conducive to simple and cost-effective monitoring, this also challenges the applicability of the concept of type-specific communities across these highly dynamic ecosystems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
